Sewage leaks into Mississippi River

SAUK RAPIDS, Minn (KNSI) Raw sewage made its way into the Mississippi River Wednesday after a sewer line leak was found in Sauk Rapids.

Mayor Dave Saunders says the broken pipe is at the city's main lift station. By last night, that sewage was being diverted into another line and pumped to the St. Cloud water treatment plant.

Saunders doesn't see any major environmental hazard, because the Mississippi River has been running fast and high for this time of year due to recent heavy rains in northern Minnesota. But he says the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Benton County Emergency Manager were notified of the situation.

He says he's not sure what caused the pipeline to leak, or how long it would take to make repairs.